1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a docking cart for a portable ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnosis system including the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus docking cart and the portable ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ultrasonic diagnosis, the pulsation of the heart or the movement of a fetus can be displayed in real time by the simple operation of bringing an ultrasonic probe into contact with the surface of the body. In addition, this technique is highly safe, and hence allows repetitive examination. Furthermore, this system is smaller in size than other diagnosis apparatuses such as X-ray, CT, and MRI apparatuses, and ultrasonic diagnosis is free from the influence of radiation exposure unlike diagnosis using X-rays. This technique can therefore be said to be a simple diagnosis technique which facilitates examination to be performed by moving the apparatus to the bed side. Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatuses used in this ultrasonic diagnosis vary in type depending on the functions which they have. Some compact apparatuses which have already been developed are small enough to be carried with one hand, and can be used in obstetric treatment, treatment at home, and the like.
Recently, as a system which allows both use at the bed side and portable use, an ultrasonic diagnosis system which connects, for example, a portable compact (portable) ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus to a docking cart such as a dedicated cart or expansion unit has been developed.
The conventional ultrasonic diagnosis system has the following problems. That is, recently, portable ultrasonic diagnosis apparatuses have a tendency to increase in weight. This is because it is required to mount a large-size LCD, enhance functions, and improve image quality even at the expense of some increases in apparatus size and weight. Increasing the weight will place a heavy burden on the operator when attaching and detaching the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus on or from the docking cart. This problem becomes more noticeable, in particular, when a powerless person performs this attaching/detaching operation. In addition, depending on the appearance designs of an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and docking cart, the receptacle of the docking cart may become smaller than the apparatus. In such a case, a place where the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus should be mounted becomes a blind spot. This can lead to an injury such as being caught between the apparatus and the receptacle.